BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — An arrest has been made in the deadly shooting that happened at a house in Boulder on Halloween night. Two 19-year old University of Colorado- Boulder students were shot; one victim died from his injuries, the other victim is still in the hospital.
Omar Perez, 18, of Thornton, is now facing charges of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and attempted murder.
Police said Perez is not a CU student.
Arrest documents outline what reportedly happened before shots were fired.
Boulder Police said the party on Saturday at 7th and Marine in the University Hill neighborhood was registered ahead of time with the police department.
"The Boulder Police Department Dispatch Center has access to that list of people that have registered their parties, along with the host and a phone number for the host. If we end up getting a noise complaint related to that specific party, then our dispatch, our police dispatch center, will call the host, let them know that we've had a complaint, and they have 20 minutes to effectively shut the party down or get it within compliance," said Barry Hartkopp, Deputy Chief of Operations for Boulder Police Department.
Boulder Police reported, just before 10pm, dispatch began contacting the party host regarding noise complaints. Officers eventually responded to the house, issued a nuisance-party ticket and shut down the party.
According to Boulder police, about 90 minutes after that, a group of people, including Perez, attempted to forced themselves inside the house. Arrest documents describe the moments a fight broke out and Perez reportedly pulled out a gun and shot the two victims. That entire group, including the suspect, then left the scene.
Read the arrest affidavit below:
Additional charges are possible for other individuals, but police believe Perez was the only alleged shooter.
Boulder Police said they had many officers in the area because of the holiday weekend.
"We were staffed heavy that night. We ended up with a number of our officers arriving on scene and immediately treating the victims of the of the assault. One of our officers placed a tourniquet on one of the victim's legs and stayed with that victim until they were loaded onto an ambulance and taken to a local hospital," said Hartkopp.
He said community tips were critical in making an arrest.
"We had detectives that were conducting over 30 interviews during that time. We were fielding numerous tips that were coming in. There was an extensive canvas that took place around that neighborhood. We ended up capturing over 50 video feeds that were provided to us to help us with the investigation," Hartkopp said.
The identities of the victims have not been publicly released. A growing memorial can be seen outside the home, filled with flowers, cards and candles from people who knew the two students.
Denver7's Danielle Kreutter spoke to two residents who live in the house and say the victims were close friends and roommates of theirs.
"You can kind of just tell the person he was based on the amount of support that Boulder's shown towards him. Everyone in this community is feeling it. Everyone's talking about it. Everyone's rallying around him. So many people have reached out already," said Peter Fahey about his roommate who was killed that night.
"It doesn't feel real. He was my best friend. He was always there. If I needed a shoulder to cry, he was there, to celebrate the biggest wins in life. He was just like an all-around, stand-up, great, just model citizen," said Jack Anderson of the victim who was killed, "I would say he was who I aspired to be in life. He was that person."
The second student who was shot is still in the hospital.
While the friends are still reeling from the unthinkable tragedy, they said they appreciate the outpouring of support from the community.
"It's like the most beautiful thing about this beautiful city. This should not show what Boulder is. It should never happen," Anderson said.
Anyone with any information about this crime is asked to contact detectives at 303-441-3333 and submit photos and videos to them online.
"The arrest in and of itself is just a step in the investigation. It isn't the conclusion of the investigation at all," said Hartkopp, "We still have numerous other steps within the investigation. This investigation isn't done until we're able to provide all the evidence to the DA's office and end up with a successful prosecution."
